Mai is known for her amazing combatant skills while armed with her butterfly fan, great athleticism, and pyrokinesis, the fictional ability to control and manipulate fire. Her pyrokinesis grants her the ability to spawn fire out of thin air, cloak herself in flames, cause explosions, and channel fire through anything she touches, making her a walking inferno. Besides her command over fire and mastery of ninjutsu, she can actually glide and temporarily fly via her aerial manipulation.

Her obviously attractive and sexy outline is assumed to be on purpose, representing the kunoichi way of assassination and manipulation; seduction of their pray.